Runestone (12 page)

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Let me think about it.”

“All right.” Amsdell started gathering up the papers from the ground, looking around nervously. “We’ll figure it out, but right now, we’ve got to get on the move. I have a bad feeling.”

Will’s gut bottomed out. “Another one? Your last bad feeling had eight immortals attached to it.”

He gained his feet and brushed the wet leaves from his backside while pocketing the paper. “Yes. That kind of bad feeling. Let’s go.”

As Will hitched his rifle strap over his shoulder, he envisioned Evangeline. Where was she now? Without a doubt, he knew she was on her way to find him, and he prayed he’d set up enough deterrents at the villa to keep her safe. When he and Amsdell discovered the villa was a target, they’d battled their way through the heavy flooding and made it up the mountain to rig the house with explosives. If someone tried to force entry, the place would blow. But Sean and Evangeline would simply use the key.

They’re safe. I won’t let her be hurt. I can’t.

The more he thought about her, the worse his shaking grew. Could Amsdell be onto something when he suggested Will Call to her? To whisper her name would ease them, and maybe help Will’s cause.

No, he couldn’t do it. Better to face these dangers without the terrifying possibility of her being killed. It was bad enough he could lose Amsdell in one of the confrontations with the army.

He stared at Amsdell’s straight back and emotion surged in him. Dammit, one lover was worrisome, but three? Before Amsdell’s sure feet outstripped his, Will caught his arm and pulled him near. He embraced him roughly, his head filling with the man’s heady musk.

Amsdell’s palm pressed into Will’s shaven head, sending a shock of intimacy through him. “We’ll make it safe. We’ll make the world safe for your lovers.”

He nodded, his forehead brushing against Amsdell’s. “We have to. Because I need all of you.”

Sean’s big body took up most of the narrow mat covering the ground where they’d laid down to sleep. Evangeline was tucked securely against his side, his arm heavy around her waist. After the draining day of hiking through the jungle, the six inches of the makeshift bed they shared felt blissful. Every muscle in her body ached.

Especially one. She’d been having dreams of being pressed between her two men, their cocks stiff and eager, their mouths working her front and back.

Her pussy was throbbing with need, and Sean’s semi-erection rested along the seam of her ass, tormenting her. She blinked into the darkness. The men had built a fire, and all the couples curled up together surrounding it, except Gracie, who had made her bed very close to Maria. Through the dim glow of the fire, Evangeline spotted Javier’s back some distance off, facing away and guarding the ridge where they slept.

In another hour Sean would take his shift.

She wriggled her bottom against him, burrowing deeper into his arms and the cocoon of warmth. She longed for their big plush bed and their downy blankets stretching over the three of them. Again, she arched her back, rocking against Sean’s cock, which was rapidly hardening.

“Mmm.” His soft moan vibrated against her spine and one hand clamped on her hip, fingers digging into the hollow of her pelvis.

Cream flooded her pussy as she imagined taking Will deep while Sean slowly penetrated her ass. Being fucked my two men at once, stretched and filled to the limits, was mind-blowing. While they timed their thrusts, driving her toward orgasm, she would hang suspended between them, mindless to anything but the pleasure they gave her.

Capturing Sean’s fingers, she directed them over the V of her mound to her burning slash. He woke up fully. His cock thrust against her ass as he circled her clit.

“You want this, don’t you, baby?” His whisper spilled down her nape, raising shivers of desire.

“Mmm-hmm.” Reaching back, she found his throbbing phallus. She slid her fingers down the shaft, and then back up, toying with the thick head.

He leaned up a little to look out over the group, checking that they were asleep. Seeing they were, he carefully drew her pants down her hips. His body heat caressed her ass and set her ablaze.

She kicked her pants off and felt him shift as he divested himself of his clothing too. His chest was bare, but knowing she would be chilled if completely exposed, he simply pulled the back of her shirt up so their skin made contact.

His fingers found her wet sex again, and she squeezed his cock, pumping it in slow time to his strokes around her clit.

He pressed the nubbin hard, grinding it beneath the pad of his thumb, drawing the hood back and revealing the harder core. Juices flooded his fingers and he slicked them over her pussy. She felt the first shudders rock her.

Sean bit into her throat lightly, his tongue flickering against her tattoo as he fingered her clit. He drove her higher and higher, the rough pads of his fingers working her into a frenzy of passion. Her hips bucked. And suddenly, the knot of wanting ruptured and she came hard and fast. She twisted her face into his bicep cradling her head and choked off her cries. Her pussy clenched harder, forcing more cream onto his fingers. They swam through the come, tracing a figure eight around her stiff pearl.

Before she could come down from her high, he drove into her. The smooth head impaled her, and he was suddenly buried balls deep. He went absolutely still, and she knew he was struggling not to blow at the feel of her still pulsating walls.

“Oh, God,” he rasped, worrying her tender earlobe between this teeth. “You’re so fucking tight.”

And then he was moving, thrusting his cock deep, extending her pleasure as his length slowly stroked her insides. She thought of Will before her, his mouth commanding her, his enormous hands cupping her breasts, pushing them together and letting them fall naturally.

Suddenly, the taste of him dizzied her, and she squeezed her eyes shut on the need it raised. Sean’s cock plunged over her G-spot on the way in once more, and her orgasm took her by surprise.

The waves jarred her, and she twitched with sensation. Her soft groan was cut off by Sean’s warm palm over her mouth. She slipped her tongue against his salty flesh and imagined it was moving over Will’s hard abs as she went down on him.

Without warning, Sean pulled out. Her pussy gaped around the emptiness, but before she could gain her senses, the slippery head was nudging her anus. The muscular rim separated and he filled her in three short plunges.

His muscles coiled against her spine, his thighs steely on the backs of hers. Her sensitive tissues spread around him, gripping him tightly as he fucked her ass. Sean was a master at giving her three orgasms in a short period of time. But tonight, she might need more. She might demand he pump her till dawn broke over the world.

She felt his teeth against her shoulder as his mouth spread in a grimace of delight. Hot tendrils of need raced through her core. Each spear of his cock grew fiercer until their bodies were rocking with ecstasy.

The first heavy pulsations began, a faint tremor in her inner walls. He felt them and flipped her suddenly. Her breasts crushed into the heated mat as he gripped her hips and yanked her ass up to receive him more deeply. Her world narrowed to the mounting pleasure in her ass, and she slipped a hand between her silky folds. The initial touch sent her over the edge of the world.

He stiffened and jerked as he shot his scalding heat into her body. She ground her ass into him, begging for more, her bones liquefying. She fought to silence her cries.

His thrusts slowed. His lips trailed over her nape and the tops of her shoulders.

After a minute, his breathing quieted, and he rolled to the side, bringing her with him and keeping their bodies joined. “Beautiful, amazing woman. I needed you so badly. Apparently you needed me too.” He ran a hand down her taut belly and between her legs to cup her mound.

“You’re the perfect lover, Sean. Perfect man, perfect husband. I love you.”

“Love you too, baby.” His whisper raised gooseflesh on her neck and arms. She cradled his jaw and drifted off into the warm depths of sleep, with him still inside her.

* * * * *

Evangeline concentrated on perfectly placing one foot in front of the other as if she traversed a high wire. Walking along a ridge at over ten thousand feet with a death drop on her right was no fucking fun. Knowing she was tripping over an active volcano scared the bejeezus out of her.

Sean walked behind her, so near that his heat flamed her back. New warmth shimmered over her body as she recalled him taking her last night. After a short nap, they’d repeated their sessions. Today the spot between her thighs was pleasantly sore to match the other muscles.

Ahead of her, the other immortals were strung along the ridge, lead by Javier. He was like a mountain goat, hopping over rock projectiles and walking dangerously near the edge of the precipice. Probably showing off for Gracie, who walked behind him, her long blonde hair swishing over the top of her buttocks and the feather crown Acan gave her fluttering. Her chirping voice carried on the breeze to Evangeline, and she realized she was singing.

With a start, she recognized the song.

Sean caught her around the waist and pulled her to a stop. “Listen.”

The words to her own song drifted back, thrilling her heart. It was a song she’d composed in Sean’s living room while he mixed it and recorded it on his laptop. A song written for her first lover, and recently recorded by a major pop artist.

Tears filled her eyes and she leaned against Sean’s chest as his arms spiraled around her. She sang a few of the bars for him, and then he twisted her head and kissed her. She melted at once, her worries of the past few hours over Will and their journey falling away at the feel of his tender mouth.

Suddenly, a scream split the air, followed by a shriek. Sean and Evangeline jerked apart in time to see Javier and Gracie disappear over the ledge. With a cry, Nathan rushed forward and prostrated himself to peer over. Everyone pushed forward.

“Gracie,” he bellowed.

“Here!” she cried at once. “On a rock shelf.”

Evangeline’s heart was thumping triple time. What about Javier? He wasn’t immortal. A fall like that would kill him.

And it could have been Sean.

“Are you okay?” Nathan yelled.

“Yes.” Her voice took on a strange tone. “But Javier’s dying. Throw me your knife!”

A collective gasp rippled through the women. Lillian was sobbing. She had Made Gracie, and everyone knew she was the closest thing to a daughter she’d ever had. Evangeline drew her into her arms, placing a palm on her spine where her immortal tattoo lived. Lillian’s breath stuttered from her.

In a flurry, Nathan dug through his jeans pockets and withdrew a pocket knife. “Gracie, I’m tossing it down. Heads up!”

Evangeline watched the silver instrument slip from his fingers and heard Gracie’s answering cry as she caught it.

Excruciating moments passed. Dante had dropped his backpack and was tearing apart the contents. He yanked out a coil of rope and searched for a place to anchor it. A sense of urgency clouded the air, darkening the day, eclipsing the sun.

“Gracie, what’s going on?” Nathan asked sharply.

There was a short, musical laugh, and then she said, “Get us out of here. I’ve just Made Javy immortal.”

Dante found a projection on a rock formation where he tied the rope off. Then he heaved the coil over the cliff. Evangeline chewed her nail as she waited, grinding her teeth against the rough edge.

Her mind whirred, chanting over and over,
What if it was Sean? What if it was Sean?

She held onto Lillian, rubbing her back to ease her, but she really wanted to grab a knife and share her blood with her husband. To lose him would be too much to bear.

Tears smarted in her eyes and the wind dried them instantly. A second gust kicked up, and Gracie appeared over the lip of the ridge.

A cheer went up as Nathan gripped her under the arms and launched her to safety. Then they all held their breaths as Javier’s dark fist came into sight, clinging to the rope. Dante reached for him and assisted him to the top.

Gracie was being passed from one set of arms to another, but when she reached Lillian, she collapsed into sobs. They clung to each other, the tall blonde and the petite bombshell. Lillian touched Gracie’s waist. When the calm struck her, she sank slowly to the ground with her head in her hands.

Sean was staring at Javier intensely, his dark brows knitted and a crease around his solemn mouth. His chest heaved and his knuckles were white, as if he struggled not to attack the new immortal and take what he wanted for himself.

Misery was a sick ball in Evangeline stomach. He wanted immortality because he couldn’t stand the idea of growing old while she and Will continued on in the same fashion. He wanted immortality because he wanted to be soul-linked to them. And he wanted it because he knew Evangeline would crumble in the event of his death. But she could give him none of it without taking away what she needed most—him.

Javier was talking rapidly, hands waving in the air like dark birds taking flight. He wore the immortal glow, but the most stunning part of his new status was his tattoo. A tree spread its inky branches across his chest and projected onto each shoulder and down his torso.

Maria translated his words. “I was a sack of skin and bones, but you have made me beautiful.” Tears stood in his eyes.

Sean twisted away. He started off across the ridge.

With a low cry, Evangeline hurried after him.
Oh, Will, help me think of a way to convince him that keeping him mortal is the best course.

A warm feeling rose inside her, as if their link was opening, but it fled as quickly as it had come.

“Sean, wait.”

He stopped walking, but refused to face her. His shoulders were rigid and his fists clenched at his sides.

She slid her palm up his spine, feeling the moisture of his perspiration beneath his layers of clothing. “Baby, we’ve got to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” His voice was resigned and so low it was almost snatched by the wind.

“Please look at me.” She shook him a little. She’d never been on the receiving end of his anger, and it stung. When he refused to turn, her heart broke a little. Even when she’d left him for Will, he’d never blamed her. “I can’t bear that you’re angry with me.”

In a moment, she was in his arms, and he was kissing her tattoo urgently, fervently. “I’m not angry with you, baby. Never. But what do I have to do to get some immortal blood? Jump?” He gestured to the death drop.

The lump of salt in her throat broke free and tears spilled down her cheeks. “Don’t ever talk like that again! Do you know what you’re asking for?”

“Yes.” His voice was harsh. “I’d be able to calm you. To make love to you and give you the extra eroticism Will does.”

“He gives me no more than you do.” She clasped his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. “Sean, you are my world. If I Make you immortal, I'll lose you.” Her throat closed off and a sob burst in her chest.